- Left the club in 1965 to join Manchester City, and later played for Middlesbrough and KSK Tongeren

16. Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson (Pictured)

- Forward joined Sunderland from West Ham United twice: for £145,000 in 1974 and £45,000 in 1979. Also returned to Sunderland from Chelsea in 1983

- Starred in second tier-winning side, and was involved in another promotion

- Became Sunderland’s oldest goalscorer in 1984 with a goal against Leicester City, aged 38 years and 182 days old

- Made 182 appearances for Sunderland, scoring 68 times

- Left the club finally in 1984, but later returned at backroom level

Our panel also selected a top 10 – but the order of those players will be up to Echo readers, who can vote for who they believe is the greatest signing in the club’s post-war history either online or by text.

You can also tweet your views on the countdown by using the hashtag #SAFC100.